After Rebirth, I Married the Great Demon King

Yun Sisi instinctively covered her nose and took two steps back.

A wave of unease surged through her.

What the heck? Why didn’t Yun Shifei argue with her?

She felt Yun Shifei was becoming more and more peculiar, increasingly beyond her expectations.

Does she genuinely dislike Mu Chengzhu, or is she just pretending?

Yun Sisi was deeply troubled, unable to figure it out.

...

Day by day passed, and soon, it was time for the midterm exams.

During this period, Yun Shifei had been diligently studying and doing practice problems.

She had already leveled up from Bronze to Silver.

But... facing the complex science subjects, while she had made some progress compared to before, there were still many questions she couldn’t solve.

After finishing the exam papers, Yun Shifei felt deeply upset.

She knew her foundation was too weak, and studying had to be approached gradually, but she couldn’t help feeling impatient.

She longed to achieve a good result so much.

After school, as Song Yang walked past her, he couldn’t resist making a snide remark: "Some people scored only 23 points on the last exam. After studying so hard these days, I wonder if they can manage 33 points this time?"

Song Yang’s irritating tone made Yun Shifei angry, yet she couldn’t muster a rebuttal.

She...

might really not score 33 points...

Who knows?

She thought of Yun Sisi.

Yun Sisi seemed genuinely smart. After finishing her homework each day, she would watch TV.

Unlike her, who sat at her desk every day writing, memorizing, yet her brain felt like a muddled mess, understanding nothing.

Maybe people really can’t be compared to each other.

But when she thought about it, she still felt sad.

Behind her, Cheng Lie silently watched Yun Shifei.

After the exam, her mood seemed off, and even though he couldn’t see her expression, he could sense it from the aura she exuded.

"Cheng Lie, let’s go home," she said.

But when Yun Shifei turned her head, she was smiling at him.

Of course, Cheng Lie still caught the tiredness in her eyes.

Clearly, studying had brought her a great deal of distress.

Thinking about this, Cheng Lie couldn’t help but lower his gaze.

He had never realized that someone could feel this tormented because of academics; her expression seemed on the verge of tears.

Huh...

He never even filled out exam papers.

Teachers wouldn’t force him to study, and Cheng Guomin wouldn’t either.

But for him, these problems were so simple that he could solve them in ten minutes.

He had never experienced such struggles.

The original Yun Shifei used to chat with Cheng Lie on their walks home, and even if Cheng Lie remained quiet, she didn’t feel awkward.

She also chatted with Uncle Liu.

But today, the girl truly seemed to be in a bad mood.

She turned to look out the window at the scenery, silent and still.

Cheng Lie glanced at her from the corner of his eye, then looked over at Uncle Liu.

Uncle Liu noticed Cheng Lie’s gaze through the rear-view mirror. He cleared his throat and asked Yun Shifei, "Miss Yun, what’s wrong? You’re so quiet today."

Startled by the question, Yun Shifei snapped out of her daze and replied, "I didn’t do well on the exam, so I’m feeling a bit down."

"Oh, I thought it was something serious," Uncle Liu chuckled. "Miss Yun, you just transferred schools recently. Your foundation was weak before, but with time, you’ll improve. No need to make a big deal out of your current scores."

She didn’t want to dwell on it either.

But... it was hard not to feel impatient.

"Miss Yun, you should focus on the long-term. Think about the good scores you’ll achieve once your foundation is solid rather than the rushed scores you’re scrambling for now," Uncle Liu said.

Although Uncle Liu wasn’t highly educated, he had supported his children through to high school—even if it wasn’t Xinhua Middle School, it was still the city’s third-ranked school, with strong prospects for college.

So he had some insights into high school students’ studies.

Listening to Uncle Liu’s comforting words, Yun Shifei’s anxiety gradually eased.

He was right; her foundation was poor to begin with—how could she expect instant results?

"Thank you, Uncle Liu, for your advice," Yun Shifei said, smiling at him.

Soon, the car pulled up to the Yun Family’s door.

Yun Shifei got out and waved to Cheng Lie. "Cheng Lie, I’m heading in now."

Just as she finished speaking, she noticed Cheng Lie pressing his lips together, his expression icy and clearly displeased.

After spending time with Cheng Lie, Yun Shifei had gradually learned to read his mood shifts.

Though he was expressionless most of the time.

There was a difference between being expressionless and in a good mood, versus expressionless and in a bad mood.

At this moment, Cheng Lie didn’t seem in a good mood.

His gaze was cold; his eyes stared directly at her.

This inexplicably made Yun Shifei feel guilty.

"What’s wrong?" she asked.

After a moment, the boy extended a hand toward her.

Yun Shifei looked down at his long, slender fingers, thinking that Cheng Lie’s hands were actually quite nice.

Three seconds later, an idea flashed in Yun Shifei’s mind, and she suddenly remembered.

She took out a candy from her pocket and handed it to Cheng Lie, saying, "Sorry, I forgot."

Oh, so this was what Cheng Lie wanted from her.

She had already gotten used to giving Cheng Lie a piece of candy every day.

With sweetness every day, she hoped he could find happiness.

But today, because of her bad mood, she had forgotten—if not for Cheng Lie’s reminder.

As she handed him the candy, the boy’s demeanor visibly softened, losing its icy edge.

When Yun Shifei got home, she was still feeling a bit dazed.

Moments ago, Cheng Lie had actually reached out to her to ask for candy.

The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

After a while, Yun Shifei couldn’t hold back and covered her mouth with a muffled gasp.

This proved her acts of kindness to him hadn’t gone to waste.

Cheng Lie was finally starting to respond.

How wonderful!

Because of this, Yun Shifei managed to dispel the negativity brought by her test performance entirely.

"Sister, how did the exam go?" Yun Sisi, however, refused to let her off the hook.

She seized every opportunity to pour salt on the wound.

"Not very well," Yun Shifei replied.

"Don’t worry, Sister. You study so hard; you’ll definitely do better than last time."

Yun Sisi’s words were deliberately setting a trap.

If Yun Shifei’s exam results didn’t improve this time, she’d undoubtedly ridicule her again.

She even made sure Xu Ya and Yun Tiancheng were listening, just to emphasize which daughter was more outstanding.

"It’s okay, Shifei. You’ve only just started catching up. Even if your grades are poor this semester, Mom and Dad won’t blame you," Yun Tiancheng said beside her.

Why is that?

Yun Sisi couldn’t understand.

Yet outwardly, she still had to play along. "Dad is right, Sister. Even if you scored poorly, it’s fine. Keep working hard!"

Yun Tiancheng shot a glance at Yun Sisi, then turned to Yun Shifei. "Shifei, you don’t seem very happy. Really, it’s just one exam—it’s not worth taking it so seriously. You still have two years to improve."